Chaos In Ivalice Lance
by Lance23
Summary: A story based on the aftermath of the Lion War. This part is told from the Point of view of Lance Dearnis, a mercenary. May later be PG-13
1. Disclaimer and Author's Notes

**|DISCLAIMER|**

I do NOT own any of the following: 

Ivalice 

Delita Hyral 

Ovelia 

Ramza              

Igros (or any other of the kingdoms in Ivalice for that matter) 

The "Prelude" which is just the ending of Final Fantasy Tactics for those who don't remember it. 

I DO own however 

Any of the new created character (Halcyon, Lance, Blade, etc.) 

Any new kingdoms created (I name them when they appear)

The chapters I write EXCEPTING the prelude

Author's Notes 

First off, a note about the construction of this story. This one is told from the POV of Lance Dearnis, but while not in first person, still heavily focuses on him. However, I will most likely "re-write" the story from other POVs, sort of like Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. So if it looks like I haven't updated any specific one of my stories for a while, don't forget to check the other POVs….I'm not going to start all six or seven at once, but I probably will within the next 2 months have at least one alternate POV going.

Also note that Ivalice is quite a large place, so some of the character won't even see each other for a VERY long time.I would also like to note here that my inspiration for this was a PBEM RPG run by one Addyita Rangan who completely disappeared years ago, but I would much like it if you would come back and start it up again! And tell us if you are a he or she as well.

Also, you get **no more new chapters until I see some reviews.** I got 2 more already written, but I need to know what I'm doing wrong so I can fix it, since this is my first serious fanfic. If you tell me what's wrong, then I can fix it. But flame me at your own risk.


	2. Prelude

Chaos in Ivalice-Lance

Prelude

            It was the end of the Lion War. The new king, Delita Hyral, was approaching his new wife…and queen, Ovelia. Ovelia herself was standing in the ruins, hand inside her dress, seeming to be praying…or crying. Delita rode in on his chocobo and dismounted.

            "Here you are…. Everyone's been looking for you," Delita said, as he approached Ovelia, hands behind his back, "Today's your birthday, right? These flowers…"

            His next sentence was abruptly cut off; as the sobbing Ovelia withdrew her hand from a dress, holding a dagger, and moving with lightning speed, stabbed Delita high in the chest.

            "O….Ovelia…?" Delita gasped, as he realized has was being assassinated by his own wife. Ovelia cried out, sobbing,

            "You use everybody like that! Now you'll kill me just like Ramza…!"

            Now, it was Ovelia's turn for her sentence to be cut off abruptly as the very same dagger she had used to stab Delita with was now wrenched from her delicate hand form hem, and plunged high into her own chest. However, as expected for a well-trained warrior and commander, his blow was much strong, Ovelia died within a single second. However, Delita fell to one knee, still bleeding from the stab he had received. He realized it was a mortal wound, and he would die. He gasped just before he died, saying,

            "Ramza…. What did you get? I………" The new King of Ivalice, with these last words, collapsed, never to say anything again. With him, the new government, weaker then a piece of paper, collapsed with him into chaos.


	3. The Beginning:A Noisy Bar

Chapter One

            Bars themselves are quite noisy. The one of Igros is no exception. Besides being a great place to go with your friend and get drunk, the bartender himself always knew where you could find a job if you needed one or if where to find someone if you had a job that needed to be done. Right now, a knight bearing the crest of Igros came, gestured for him to come aside, and started talking to him rapidly. The bartender looked bored for a moment, and said something the knight didn't like. The knight restrained himself from smashing the bartender's face, but then went ahead and said one more thing. If not for how noisy the bar was, the speed at which he shot up would have drawn attention. Things like that are of small concern here, though. He immediately pointed at a game of dice in a corner, and gestured toward one man who was watching the other throw. The knight gestured as well, and the bartender nodded. The knight now began the formidable task of wading through the sea of people toward the table where the people were playing dice.

            "Not again!" the thrower of the dice roared, glaring at the dice with hatred.

            "You really should have given up when you were up a hundred on me instead of going for the hundred-fifty. Now you got fifty in the hole," the other man replied. "Well, you going to drop out?"

            "No way! I'm going to win it back! Twenty on this throw!" the man yelled back to his friend.

            "Fair enough, evens, six and two." The man said as he tossed the dice on the table. Sure enough the dice turned up a six…and the other fell on the floor. The knight reached down, picked it up, and tossed it back on the table. It was a two. "Thanks, man, you just won me twenty more," replied the new roller of the dice.

            "No fair, you didn't roll it!" his friend shouted back.

            "Well, if you REALLY want to have ano…"

            "Sir, are you Lance Dearnis?" the knight said, cutting into the thrower of the dice's sentence.

            "Yes. Why do you want to know?" Lance replied, looking the knight over.

            The knight himself was looking Lance over, wondering if this guy really deserved his reputation. While he couldn't see any weapon on him, he was well known for not letting it be seen unless he wanted it to. Otherwise, he didn't look like much. Strongly built, about, six foot two, and anywhere between one hundred seventy-five pound to two hundred. However, there was no doubt that he was aware completely of his surrounding, even laid back as he was now. After a short pause, the knight said, "A job. I, in the name of the government of Igros, wish to hire you for a job…the details are not public, however, so if we could go somewhere a little more private…"

            "Fair enough, " Lance replied to the knight. Redirecting is attention to his friend, he said, " Well, blade, looks like our round for tonight is canceled. And no, I'm not going to insist on taking you extra twenty…a hundred is enough for me to take off from you at a time."

            "Well, a least tell me when you might be back this time...if you can," Blade shouted to Lance, as he started moving through the crowd to the exit. He did it a great deal better then the knight, half-drunk though he was, due to his much greater experience of bars. 

            "Do you seriously want to discuss it or not?" Lance said to the knight, has he begun to leave. He had a much easier time of it, not so much as skill as the fact that the people here gave him room if he asked for it, when he did. The knight noted this, and moved almost as quickly directly behind Lance. After they stepped outside, it was Lance's turn to follow the knight, this time as he led him directly into the nearest military fort, which was not far from the bar, considering the fact that many soldiers were frequent patrons of this tavern. The knight led him to a small room with a man they both recognized at once – Halcyon Grasion, the current commander of Igros's military. Lance's eyes narrowed a little, in anticipation of dangers ahead. Men like this one rarely make contact with mercenaries, even those as well known for their honor as he was, unless absolutely necessary. The knight saluted Halcyon, then immediately left, closing the door behind him. To the knights surprise, Lance had handed him a long katana, still in it's sheath, one which hadn't seen on the mercenary even though he had given special attention to looking for any kind of weapon on him. He hadn't seen it until Lance shoved it in his arms as he walked through the door.

            Meanwhile, inside the room, Halcyon sat down, motioning for Lance to do so as well. After a short moment's pause, Halcyon spoke. 

" To get to the point, we have a…problem. Before I can tell you anything about it, you must swear that, whether you accept or reject this job, you will tell none other anything about it."

"You already know my answer, or you wouldn't be asking me. I so swear on St. Ajora and Glabados," Lance responded.


	4. An odd form of payment

Chapter 2

            Lance was walking away from the fort now, mentally talking to himself.

            _Well, I've seen this before…but what does it mean? With my reputation, it is obvious why they would select me in a ploy like this…but why not go with the obvious choice? Well, first order is to get Grashan ready to come with me…but still, why on earth can the knight not be trusted?_

Walking through the city to where he kept his chocobo, Lance kept mentally talking to himself. As he walked by the bar, he came to the conclusion that a drink or two might help him think about this more. Going to Grashan could wait a little for this, he reason. However, as he walked in, someone else came out. They came out in midair, and flying through the air at a fast clip, slamming into the wall behind him hard enough to make it crack. The stone wall upon which the man was now slumping down, unconscious. The man who wore the uniform of a policemen of Igros. As he dashed in, he saw the man's partner, who was looking up at a large man with a terrified look on his face, and the man was certainly something to be feared.  He was around seven feet tall, and weighed at least two hundred fifty pounds. He was bald, but was obviously not to be taken lightly. 

            "Fifteen hundred to whoever help me take down this man alive!" the policeman shouted, hoping to get some help on his side. 

            "Fools…" Lance mutter as he ducked behind a table. A few seconds later, the first wave of men flew back. It was to be expected. The most desperate were usually the weakest. Lance himself rose up from behind the table in about twos seconds, and charged the man himself, hand on the katana in his sheath. However, the man noticed him first, which eh hadn't expected, and started advancing.

            "Another greedy bastard? I'll break your bones like the rest!!!!" the man shouted as he broke into an outright charge. Lance realized at the clip he was moving, he had no chance of getting the point in line to stop the man. So he sheathed his sword completely, and then whipped it out after the man got inside range with incredible speed. He carefully angled it so only the flat hit the man, but it hit them in the head. The man kept charging, more from momentum then anything else, but stopped just short of Lance to lean on a bar table. He wasn't showing it much, but the hit had rattled him hard.

            "No bad, whoever you are. Most people are unconscious after a hit like that, but you even managed to stay stan…HWUH!!!!" Lance said, being cut off as the man brought up his left hand into him. Lance managed to move out of the way some, but not enough. He took the hit and went spiraling off, keeping himself form falling by putting his arm on a table for support like the other man had done a moment earlier.

            "Shut your mouth and FIGHT!!!!" the man yelled charging again. However, in a flash of feet, all of the sudden the man was on the ground, screaming in agony. Lance had pulled of a quick succession of moves while faking injured. First, with a double kick, he had sent the kneecap around to the back of the man's knees, then separated them with his hands, and pulling the kneecap into the ex-joint. This man would NOT be walking for a while, or without a good doctor or priest and high cost. Knowing this, Lance turned to the policeman still conscious.

            "Well, don't you own me fifteen hundred?" Lance said, smiling.

            "I'll give you fifteen hundred! It'll cost twice that just to fix this guy…No money!" the policeman shouted back.

            Lance's expression rapidly turned into rage, and with a pair of loud crashes, this man was now wearing 3 bar tables smash over his head, and had a few broken bones. Lance proceeded to write something on a piece of paper. 

" This is the name of a doctor who will fix that guy up for five hundred, and you for one thousand. Consider that my pay, and next time keep the promises you make, " Lance replied, tossing the paper on the man's head as he strolled out of the bar, and towards the direction of the chocobo stables.


	5. Starting on a long, hard road to

Chapter 3

"Well, sorry for taking so long Grashan…got in a little fight at the bar." Lance said to his chocobo as he stroked its feathers on it's back.

"Wark!" replied Grashan, unable to say anything else.

"Ha, ha, ha…I had a feeling you'd say that. Well, let's go, we have to be out in front of the city in two minutes. That's a mile away; you'll have to work a little to get there in time…only a little. I hope we have a chance to give you a real workout sometime…this sounds like the kind of thing where that is nearly a given, considering how paranoid these guys are being all the sudden…Halcyon isn't known for being subtle." Lance said, now mounting the chocobo, as the chocobo warked back at him as it seemed to nod…

"Atkin!" Lance said, clearly and commandingly, and the chocobo immediately took off at an impressive speed, heading for the outskirts of the city. More than a few people turned and looked at surprise as he raced through the streets, moving with impressive control at a speed that many though was unreachable for chocobos. One man, however, wearing a long cloak, seemed to watch him with interest…but went unnoticed by Lance, who was concentrating more on avoiding a falling cart of fruit that just barely missed clipping him, which was an odd coincidence…As it was, he made it to the meeting point outside the eastern gate with only seconds to spare. There, is traveling companions were waiting for him. 

"Took your sweet time getting here, nearly made us late," growled a knight, who Lance knew was from Igros but wore no emblem on him, the way bandits, disgraced, or mercenary knights did. 

Looking around, one could not find anything to connect any of the people here with Igros. Lance, of course, was quite literally connected with nobody. Kain, the knight who was more then a little annoyed at Lance's cutting it close to the wire, as already mentioned, had no emblem as well. Neither did the other random guards, wielding swords and bows. Whatever this force was for, it was definitely NOT for something public. 

"Well, I'm here, and I was here on time. We won't be late unless we don't leave in 5 seconds. Well, are we leaving?" Lance asked, not showing much love for Kain. 

"Yes you damn bastard…why the chief insisted on you coming with us, I don't know…" Kain replied, spinning around on his chocobo.

Lance started going as well, noting that even though Kain might be anal-retentive, he definitely knew what he was doing, with referring indirectly to Halcyon as 'chief,' the way that many bandit groups in the areas referred to their leaders…shaking himself out of it, and preparing to concentrate himself on the road ahead, Lance said,

"Atkin!" again in the same clear, commanding voice, and his chocobo charged off with the nine ahead of them, traveling the road to Riovanes, which would take them about a week with the path, they were traveling.


End file.
